Orania branches out

2006-07-20 13:28

Bloemfontein - The conservative Afrikaner enclave of Orania in the Northern Cape is to launch two support groups abroad, a spokesperson said on Thursday.

Eleanor Lombard said the Orania Movement would launch a support group in the Netherlands and England on Friday and Saturday.

"Two of the movement's deputy-presidents, Frans de Klerk and Carel Boshoff IV, are visiting the two countries and have had discussions with various political leaders and opinion makers on the role of Orania in South Africa."

Lombard said many people overseas have joined the movement over the last few years.

"This has led to a need to liaise on a more personal level with these members."

Lombard said an Orania member in the Netherlands, Koos Kooy, recently registered an association called the Buitelandse Vriende van Orania (Friends of Orania Abroad).

It would be officially launched in Amsterdam on Friday night.

On Saturday the association would be launched in London at the "Aardvark," a popular spot with South Africans, with a spit braai.

"At the launches an information session would be held on Orania and ample time for discussions and opinion interchange," Lombard said in a statement.

Lombard said during the overseas visit De Klerk and Boshoff have had discussion with various groups in the Netherlands.

These include the "Vlaamse Instituut vir Zuider-Afrika", "Vlaamsbelang" in Brussels, the "Vrienden van Zuid-Afrika" in Antwerp, the "Nederlands-Zuid-Afrikaanse Vereniging" in Amsterdam and the "Nederlands-Zuid-Afrikaanse Werkgroep" in The Hague.

Lombard said the visit has enjoyed positive media coverage in the Netherlands so far.

- SAPA